title: Seroprevalence and risk factors for cattle anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and trypanosomiasis in a Brazilian semiarid region.
abstract: The seroprevalence of Anaplasma marginale, Babesia bigemina, Babesia bovis and Trypanosoma vivax and the risk factors for these infections were investigated in 509 cows on 37 farms in the semiarid region of Paraíba, northeastern Brazil. Cow serum samples were tested by means of immunofluorescence assay (IFA) against each specific antigen. The mean seroprevalence values per farm were 15.0% (range: 0-75%) for A. marginale, 9.5% (range: 0-40%) for B. bigemina and 26.9% (range: 0-73.7%) for B. bovis. All cows tested negative for T. vivax. Higher prevalence for A. marginale was significantly associated with less frequent acaricide spraying per year and with higher use of injectable antihelminthics. Presence of cows positive for B. bigemina was significantly associated with acaricide use and with presence of horse flies on the farm. Both occurrence and higher prevalence of B. bovis were significantly associated with recent observations of ticks on cattle. Overall, the present results indicate that the region investigated is an enzootically unstable area for A. marginale, B. bigemina and B. bovis, since most animals were seronegative to at least one agent.
authors.affiliation: Unidade Acadêmica de Medicina Veterinária, Centro de Saúde e Tecnologia Rural, Universidade Federal de Campina Grande, Patos, PB, Brazil.
authors.forename: Valéria Medeiros de Mendonça
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: Múcio Flávio Barbosa
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.forename: Amélia Lizziane Leite
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Duarte
authors.forename: Julia Marry
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Mangueira
authors.forename: André Flávio Almeida
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Pessoa
authors.forename: Sergio Santos
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Azevedo
authors.forename: Antonio Thadeu Medeiros de
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Barros
authors.forename: Franklin
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Riet-Correa
authors.forename: Marcelo Bahia
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Labruna
mesh_terms: D000712:Anaplasmosis / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000818:Animals; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000097:blood; D001404:Babesiosis / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002417:Cattle; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D014354:Trypanosomiasis, Bovine / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan